Jaded
by Freya Fraser
Summary: Freya was an experiment destined to be terminated when she refused to do what the Union wished. But after being saved by the Raizel Knights, Raizel himself, she discovers that there is more to her life than she previously believed. She isn't some failed experiment, like she had thought. Now, with the help of the others, Freya strives to find out just who she is. Contains Spoilers.


**A quick note from the author:**

 **This fanfiction was written not necessarily to share with others, but to please myself. I've been writing for a few weeks now, trying to ease my anxiety due to my work, and it's been working fairly well. I hadn't actually intended to share this with anyone anywhere, as quite a lot of it was written on my phone and there may be mistakes I might miss, but lately I've had a desire to see what others might think of my story. The beginning few chapters surrounds Freya as she slowly becomes accustomed to life with the group, and slowly works its way into the actual story line, where she comes in somewhere after the twelfth elder's death, and before the tenth and eleventh elder's appearance. I've been getting much of this from the Webtoon app, so I do apologize if some of the spelling of names are incorrect. (Because they are certainly different on the app compared to the wikipedia page.) I did attempt to look them up before I continued work on the story, but I might have missed something, and for that I do apologize. It's also been several long years since I've written anything, let alone a fanfiction, so bear with me if it gets a little rough in spots.**

 **Now, onto the story.**

Dark. Pain. It was never ending. There was only dark and pain and a vague sense of floating. Her eyes would open occasionally, and see only a thick, green fog with figures staring at her through the depths. She couldn't see faces, just their vague outlines. She felt their eyes on her though, and thought they had no problem seeing all of her.

Pain shivered over her skin again, burying deep inside her muscles, the sinew and all the way to her bones. Her back arched and she tried to scream, but the sound was absorbed by murky liquid that surrounded her. _Like a bug in a jar._ The thought filtered through her brain as the pain faded. She didn't know where the thought came from. They just appeared like that every now and then. Racing through her head, leaving her confused and wondering. Wondering about herself. Who she was. Why she was here, and why there were so many people outside.

She could hear them talking outside her tank. She couldn't understand them, but she caught a few words here and

 _Experiment. Failure. Terminate._

Were they talking about her? She couldn't hear most of the conversation. She closed her eyes. If they were, she would die. Would the pain go away then? Death didn't scare her. She welcomed it, after living with the pain, the endless floating, not being able to move or run or... Anything.

There was a sudden flash of light, an explosion, a scream. Her eyes opened, and she saw that the figures in front of her tank had vanished, whether in the blinding flash of light or because they had run, she didn't know. Another figure appeared, walking slowly. She tried to drift closer to the edge of her tank, but the restraints on her arms stopped her. They always did. The figure moved, closer to the tank, and a ruby light shot through the murky liquid that surrounded her. She drew in a sharp breath, the mask that covered her mouth and nose suctioning tighter around her face. Power pulsed, and the tank shattered, the restraints snapping, and the mask slipping from her face.

There was a brief moment of falling, then arms were around her. Warm. Strong. Masculine. She looked up into piercing grey eyes that gazed at her in confusion, and... Was that anger?

"It's her," He said, his voice low and deep. He stood, and she realized he was still holding her. She twisted, falling out of his arms but somehow managing to land on her feet. She crouched, stepping back, uncertain. To be honest, she crouched only because she didn't think her legs would support her without help. Whatever had exploded was over now. The screaming had stopped. She looked around her, unwilling to take her eyes off the man but needing to know. To see. It had been so long since she'd been allowed out of that tank.

"You're safe," said an almost melodious voice from just behind her. She spun, nearly falling, but hands supported her. Ruby eyes glinted at her from half-lidded eyes, and she knew that those eyes were the ruby light she'd seen when in the tank. But... How? His eyes seemed to bore into her, then flitted from her face to the person that was holding her by the shoulders. She realized that, along with the hands, there was a jacket being placed over her. She looked down, then drew the ends over her almost nude form. The only thing that preserved her modesty were strips of cloth covering her chest and over her hips. She looked behind her, and a man with bright blue eyes and long, blonde hair stood there, watching her curiously.

"Master is right. You're safe now," He said, his voice soft, though his gaze as it shifted from her to the lab was anything but. It was cold and hard, and sent shivers down her spine.

"Boss! Everything is clear." A man with a strange haircut walked in, part of it white but the rest of his hair a dark black. His eyes flicked over her, then to the man that stood behind her. "The initial explosion killed many of them, and those who didn't fled on a helicopter. We couldn't catch them."

What was going on? The man with the black hair and ruby eyes stood silently, letting the one behind her, with the long blonde hair take over. Hadn't the blond man referred to the one with red eyes as master? Why is the younger guy reporting to the blond guy?

She was confused, and, she began to realize, her legs were shaking. She sagged, and the man behind her wrapped his arm around her waist.

"M-21," He said, his voice soft, and the first man, with the piercing grey eyes and scar on his mouth, walked up and scooped her back into his arms.

"Stay still this time," He said with a soft grunt.

"What's wrong M-21? Can't hold onto a girl?" Said the younger man with a grin.

"Shut it, Tao," M-21- was that even a name?- growled.

"Tao, you're supposed to be checking the computers," said a man that she hadn't seen yet, with long purple hair and vibrant icy blue eyes. His eyes shifted to her, and up to the man holding her. They nodded to one another, then the purple haired man went to go have a quite conversation with the blonde haired man.

"Don't worry," M-21 said, his voice quiet. "We'll get you out of here."

"W- Who..." Her voice rasped. She couldn't remember the last time she had used it, and it sounded rough, rusty. "Who are you people?" She rasped out.

"We're the RK-5!" Said Tao, who was now sitting behind the computer and typing so fast his fingers nearly blurred. The purple-haired man shook his head, and M-21 sighed.

"That isn't important right now," M-21 finally said, after a beat of confused silence on her part. "Tao, hurry up. She's going to pass out and it'll make it harder to get out of here."

"I'm fine," she protested, but the protest sounded weak even to her ears. "I'll walk."

"You can't even stand. Tao!"

"Damn it," Tao cursed. "There isn't much. I've got what they do have though, let's get out of here."

They all nodded, and started moving. "You have her, M-21?" The blonde man asked. M-21 only grunted softly, looking down at the woman in his arms. She looked back up at him, silent, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Yeah. I've got her."

The group moved out, and the woman's head slowly slumped over, her body going limp. The man that held her let out another soft grunt and shifted his grip on her, and followed the others to the roof, where, one by one, they jumped to the next roof over, heading back home.

She didn't know how long she had been out, but when her eyes opened again, there wasn't a green, murky fog of liquid in front of her eyes. There was a ceiling, darkened with the dimmed lights. Surrounding her wasn't liquid, but blankets and something soft underneath her. Was she in a bed?

She sat up slowly, her long hair falling around her. She was wearing a shirt now, a little too large and button up. A man's shirt. She lifted it with one finger, and caught a look at her hair. Vibrant. Red. It reminded her of the fire she had seen at the lab. She looked around at the room, and spotted someone sitting in the corner. Long hair, and... Silver? Not that it was any stranger than the man with purple hair from before.

"You are awake," the voice said, soft, lilting with a strange accent, and feminine. The silver haired woman stood, and she noticed how beautiful she was, with ruby red eyes and a slim physique.

The woman walked out without saying anything else, and she sat on the bed, confused. No, was she even a woman? She looked more like a teenager.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she sat and stared towards the door. Footsteps approached, and the man with the blonde hair stepped inside with a warm smile. He looked nothing like he did before. His expression was warm, inviting. Before it had been cold, calculating, almost frightening, even when he was giving her his jacket.

"Hello, I'm glad to see you're awake," He said. "I'm Frankenstein. You just saw Seira. I asked her to come get me as soon as you woke up. You've been out for almost an entire day."

He approached slowly, and she drew herself up, not quite standing, but ready to fight. He didn't stop coming, but he also didn't approach her directly. He went to the end of the bed, picking up a bundle she hadn't seen before. Clothes. "These are Seira's, but you two are close to the same size. She said she would be happy to share with you, until you got your own." She didn't reach for the clothes, just staring at them in Frankenstein's hands. "I won't hurt you, Jade."

She flinched at the name, drawing away from him. He looked puzzled by her reaction. That name. That's what _they_ had called her. Project Jade. It wasn't a name. It was a title. "You don't like that name, I take it," he said. She didn't respond. "That's fine. What can I call you, then, if not that?" She was glad he didn't say it again, but... She also didn't know how to answer his question.

"I... Don't know," She finally said. Her voice was still rough, but she finally took the clothes from him. "I... Don't have a name." His arms went to his sides as he studied her, and slowly he walked to the nightstand next to the bed. He picked up a glass, and filled it with water from a pitcher next to it before handing it to her.

"We need to call you something," He said after she took the cup and drank almost greedily. How long had it been since she'd had a proper drink of water? She'd always had needles in her skin, sustaining her life with fluids and nutrients. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been out of the tank. "We'll think about it." He took the cup from her, gently. "You'll be sick if you drink anymore," He said with a soft sigh, as if he were talking to a child. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Get dressed," He said, stepping back. "And come out. We'll discuss matters further in the living room. We have food." With that, Frankenstein turned and stepped out, shutting the door quietly behind him.

She stared at it for a long time, uncertain. The smell of the food, however, slowly drifted towards her, and she finally got up and quickly dressed. As she walked to the door, the sight of herself in a mirror made her stop. She was thin, her hair long and a little matted. She hadn't had a shower, so that wasn't a surprise. Her eyes were such a strange shade… Somewhere between light brown and amber. She looked at herself for a long moment, feeling disconnected. She'd forgotten what she had looked like. She shook her head, turning away. It was making her heart ache to look at the person she had become.

She walked out, hesitant, and turned towards the smell of food and the quiet chatter. As soon as she stepped into the room, it fell silent. The young woman from earlier, Seira, was drinking tea silently. A boy next to her looked at her with the same ruby eyes she and the man with the black hair had. The black haired man in question sat, drinking his tea silently as well, not looking up as she walked in. Save for the two, everyone else looked at her, and she hesitated in the doorway.

"Please, come sit," Frankenstein said, standing and motioning to an empty space between him and the man who had carried her the day before, M-21. Slowly she stepped forward, feeling everyone's eyes on her. She sat uncomfortably, her back stiff and at the edge of her seat, ready to jump up at a moment's notice. Her whole body was tense. "Now, our new guest has said she dislikes the name that Tao found in the files on the computer yesterday," Frankenstein said, sitting back down and picking up his glass of tea. He lifted it to his lips, but didn't drink. Instead, he said, "We need something to call her, but she doesn't know what else to call herself."

There was a long silence as everyone looked from her, to each other. Everyone save the black haired man, and the girl with the silver hair. It was the latter that spoke, her voice soft.

"Freya," She said. Everyone turned to her, and her cheeks heated a faint pink. "I heard about her in school. The warrior goddess of Norse mythology," she said. "I thought it fit."

The others turned to the newcomer sitting on the couch, her long red hair falling across her face. "Well?" Frankenstein asked finally. She turned to look at him, thinking, considering.

"I... Freya," She said, finally. "It's... Nice."


End file.
